Land of the Brave

British Colonies - 1763

Colonial America - Land of the Brave

British Colonies: 1763
The fight for territories and power in North America were fought by the countries in Europe. The Swedish and Dutch were ousted in the early colonial struggles, leaving the 'Super Powers' to fight for possession of America and their policy of Colonialism.

The following map shows the land claims made by the Spanish, British and French and the disputed areas of the New World in 1754. The French and Indian Wars had raged between England and France for 75 years. 

Victory for the British Colonies
The British victories at the Battle of Quebec in 1759 and the Battle of Montreal finally led to the demise of New France. The 1763 Treaty of Paris was signed and nearly all the French possessions east of the Mississippi River and Canada were surrendered to the British, Spain traded Florida to Great Britain for control of Havana and North America was added to the British empire and became subject to British rule.

The British Colonies
The 13 Colonies span the time in early American history from 1607 to 1776. The English settlement of the original 13 Colonies were located on the Atlantic coast of North America and founded between 1607 in Virginia and 1733 in Georgia. The names of the original 13 colonies are detailed on the following list:

Life in the British Colonies
Life in the British colonies was completely different between the New England colonies, Middle colonies and Southern colonies. Economic activities and trade were dependant of the environment in which the American Colonists lived.  So what was life like in the British colonies in 1763?

Fact 1: The geography and climate impacted the trade and economic activities of British Colonies in Colonial Times

Fact 2: Land was controlled by the wealthy and labor was performed by slaves, criminals or by Indentured Servants

Fact 3: Life in the New England Colonies: New England consisted of mountains, trees, rivers and poor rocky soil that was difficult to farm and unsuitable for crops. Life centered around fishing, the fur trade and commerce.

Fact 4: Life in the Middle Colonies: The Middle colonies had fertile soil and land that was suited to farming refer to Colonial Food. These were the big food producing regions that included corn and wheat and livestock. Their industries included the production of iron ore, lumber, textiles, furs and shipbuilding

Fact 5: Life in the Southern Colonies: The warm climate of the South made it possible to grow crops throughout the year and was ideally suited for Plantations. The plantations produced 'cash crops' of tobacco, cotton, rice and indigo (dye) and this type of agriculture system was based on Slave Plantations

Fact 6: Town life existed in the New England and Middle Colonies but was little known in the South, particularly in Virginia

Fact 7: Government: The governing body aiding the King, were the Lords of Trade and Plantations in London. Under them in America were the royal and proprietary governors, who, with the local colonial legislatures managed the affairs of the British colonies - refer to Colonial Government

Fact 8: Religion: The different types of religions practised also varied from one colony to another. New England was Puritan. The Middle and Southern Colonies were not dominated by a single religion which gave way to more liberal attitudes and some religious freedom. Refer to Religion in the Colonies

Fact 9: Taxes - The American colonists were becoming increasingly incensed by the demands made and taxes required by Great Britain, the sovereign state. Taxes in the Colonies were to become a major issue...

Fact 10: Triangular Trade: The Triangular trade routes were pivotal to the practise of Mercantilism by Great Britain by which colonies had one main purpose: to enrich the parent country

Fact 11: The purpose of the British colonies was to supply raw materials and serve as a market for the finished goods that would be made in England. It was forbidden by the laws of trade to produce highly profitable 'finished goods'. Nobody was permitted to manufacture iron beyond the state of pig or bar iron, or make woolen goods for export, or make hats.

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Updated 2018-01-01

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